Australian Working Stock Dog Magazine - June 2018

he hink Like a Canine Booklet on working dog

training is available from [email protected]

for $15.00 including postage and handling.

Ken Sykes

Haig Farm Working Border Collies

214 Beutel Rd., Cliton QLD 4361

PH: 0407 592591

T L C

THE IMPORTANCE OF PEDIGREES

By Ken Sykes

T

here is the old saying “Pieces of paper don’t work

stock”. TV personality, author, and dog trainer, Monty

Hamilton-Wilkes, past president of the R.S.P.C.A and

Royal Guide Dogs for the blind, has written several books on

dogs and is not a believer of inherited instinct. He claims that

a sheep dog pup will adopt a typical cautious sheep dog ap-

proach to stock not due to the pups inherited instinct but to

their cultural inheritance handed down from their elders. In

efect, he claims that the pup will learn its style of working by

watching its dam and other older dogs in its environment.

What makes a good stock dog? Is it nurture or nature? Ham-

ilton- Wilkes approach does not explain why a sheep dog pup

fostered on to a bull terrier cross bitch tried to herd the chooks

while its pig dog litter mates were more interested in diving in

for the kill. Fortunately, we have the answer based on extensive

scientiic research carried out as long ago as the 1950s in Bar

Harbour, Main, USA. And San Rafael, California, Guide Dogs

for the Blind research facility and reinforced in many research

trials since. he Bar Harbour research conducted over 14 years

with over 400 pups proved conclusively that aptitudes are

inherited. Natural aptitudes develop through use and prac-

tice and may be accelerated through training. In the opposite

manner, an environment may suppress or bury a natural apti-

tude so completely that it never becomes apparent.

One thing we must keep in mind is that the environment can

never give a dog an ability that it has not inherited. No more

than a cow can lay eggs, or a chicken give milk. Environment

and appropriate training provides the opportunity for com-

plete fruition of the inherited abilities. he super dogs we

see in the paddock or trial arena in the hands of a top stock

man may only be a good useful dog in the hand of the average

trainer. It takes a very high level of skill to control, modify

and develop the dogs inherited working ability to its optimum

level.

For the rest of us if we have a young dog with a very high level

of inherited aptitude but only can train it to 80% of its poten-

tial we still have a very useful dog. On the other hand, if the

dog has only limited natural aptitude and we take it to 100% of

that level we still have fairly poor working ability.

I rarely breed a litter and pups have come to me from a variety

of sources. I ind that in almost every working Border Collie

pedigree four or ive generations back Sevills Bill N7689 will

appear at least once and oen more than once. I know noth-

ing of this dog but apparently, he was well regarded by several

breeders. Selective line breeding has proved to be one of the

most efective means of gaining consistency in progeny.

A dog that appears once in a pedigree 5 generations back pro-

vides approximately 3% of your dog’s genetic makeup. Don’t

be carried away by one or two top dogs some way back in the

pedigree. What we need to look for in the pedigree is for at

least the irst three generations of dogs that work in the style

we require, and to have done so to a high degree. It is impor-

tant that all these dogs close up in the pedigree are performing

the same type of work, whether yard, paddock, trial, sheep

or cattle. While this does not guarantee success, it will surely

put the odds irmly in your favour. If the dog is line bred to

an outstanding individual your chances are considerably im-

proved.

A word on line breeding and inbreeding. Inbreeding is the

breeding together of related individuals. Line breeding occurs

when one individual appears more oen in the pedigree than

any other. For example, the mating of litter mates would be

inbred but not line bred. Sire over daughter would be line bred

as the sire appears more oen in the pedigree than any other.

Line bred dogs are by deinition inbred. Line breeding while

culling heavily for fault has been the method of development

of most modern breeds of livestock. It has been used very suc-

cessfully in the USA for breeding guide dogs and in Australia

in the development of some lines of working dogs. he most

common form of line breeding used in working dogs is the

mating of half siblings, uncle over niece, or grandsire over

granddaughter.

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